For a sustainable palm oil development

Countries in the Congo Basin are experiencing multiple challenges amongst which poverty reduction, economic growth, food security and the fight against deforestation. One of the potential areas of economic growth is the production of palm oil for financial and local employment benefits. With limited options for further growth of new palm oil plantations in South-East Asia, currently the largest foreign producer of palm oil, are now looking to expand their activities. The Congo Basin is one of the specific target areas for their expansion, particularly in the Green Heart of Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, DRC, CAR and the Republic of Congo). With this increased interest from investors, the Congo Basin is going through a phase of economic growth, leading to new and increased conservation challenges at multiple levels.

Palm oil, with an annual global production of over 50 million tons (USDA 2012), has become the most important vegetable oil globally. Palm oil contributes to 30% of the world’s production of vegetal oils. Considering it favorable characteristics palm oil demand is expected to continue to grow to approximately 70 Mt in 2020.

More than 14 million ha of oil palms have been planted across the tropics. The predicted expansion of palm oil plantation areas needed to meet global demand is likely to result in an additional lo 4 million ha of deforestation by 2020. As it is a common cooking ingredient in Africa, Southeast Asia and part of Brazil. Palm oil is also a highly profitable product for the producers and suppliers.

What we do

WWF International policy recognizes that palm oil is used to provide basic food needs and that it is also increasingly used as a biofuel.
It recognizes that the oil palm expansion process has the potential to provide economic development and improve rural livelihoods in areas where it is developed. However, there is also a serious risk that expansion of palm oil plantations cause deforestation, biodiversity loss, destruction of High Conservation Values (HCV) areas and have other negative social and environmental impacts if not planned carefully and in a responsible and sustainable way.

The WWF Central African Regional Program Office (CARPO) seeks to address these challenges of expansion and biodiversity conservation. Considering the fact that palm oil developments are only emerging in the Congo Basin, now is the time to have an impact on how palm oil will be expanded in the region and to prevent potential devastating effects it can have on biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods. Many of the negative impacts that are characteristic of long-existing plantations are the consequence of poor planning and inadequate consideration to social and environmental best practices.

Indirectly, the current scramble for Congo basin’s natural resources leads to conflict over available land, resulting in overlap between, for example, palm oil concessions and protected areas, or mineral exploration permits and forestry concessions. Integrated land use planning, taking into account both conservation and developmental needs is a key tool to solve these conflicts. WWF wants to be an actor in ensuring that palm oil expansions are planned with care and in a sustainable way. This implies, ensuring minimal deforestation and negative impacts on high conservation areas in the Congo basin area.

To achieve sustainable palm oil development in the Congo Basin, WWF has developed a GHoA palm oil strategy. The aim of this strategy is to change the classic development patterns and supply chains towards sustainable development in the coming years, which will be crucial for the future of palm oil in the Congo Basin, which is still in its infancy. WWF can, in collaboration with other parties, have a great impact on the way oil palm is expanded by promoting and raising awareness on Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and its benefits. Promoting the use of social and environmental best practices will also avoid that palm oil developments have negative impacts on High Conservation Value (HCV) areas.